


Blue Moon Rising

by fhsa_archivist



Category: Anita Blake: Vampire Hunter - Laurell K. Hamilton, Buffy the Vampire Slayer
Genre: Alternate Universe, Crossover
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2005-04-08
Updated: 2005-04-08
Packaged: 2019-02-05 17:09:14
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,750
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12798720
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fhsa_archivist/pseuds/fhsa_archivist
Summary: After the events of the S7 finale, Willow heads to St. Louis to play the game of diplomacy .





	1. prologue

**Author's Note:**

> Note from Haven, the archivist: This story was originally archived at [Fandom Haven Story Archive (FHSA)](http://fanlore.org/wiki/Fandom_Haven_Story_Archive), was scheduled to shut down at the end of 2016. To preserve the archive, I began working with the OTW to transfer the stories to the AO3 as an Open Doors-approved project in November 2017. If you are this creator and the work hasn't transferred to your AO3 account, please contact me using the e-mail address on [Fandom Haven Story Archive collection profile](http://archiveofourown.org/collections/fhsa/profile).

~*~prologue~*~ 

 

She still didn't understand why she had to be the one to do this. 

 

Yes, the job needed to be done. It was a whole new world out there, and considering the things that had happened to the world in the past few years, that was saying a lot. 

 

Things were so different now. They were all starting over again, many because they finally had the chance to, and others because they had no other choice. The destruction of the Hellmouth had resounding repercussions for the rest of the world and steps needed to be taken so that the reconstruction could go as smoothly as possible. 

 

This meant a return to tradition, as well as a throwing out of it as well. Some things needed to put be back in place, but changed in the way they operated. Point in check, the Watchers' Council needed to be rebuilt. There were hundreds, even thousands, of Slayers awakening all over the world. They needed to be contacted, needed to be found and have things explained to them so that their lives wouldn't fall into pieces because of their newfound abilities. 

The Council was the best solution at the time. Yes, most Watchers all over the world were dead, thanks to the First, but there were still so many other people around who could be just as useful as Watchers. The Council was going to be rebuilt, revamped, and released with an entirely different game plan in mind than before. Now it would serve to find the Slayers and to teach them about their powers instead of dictating a life of hardship and death to them. Slayers would be given a choice: fight the fight or live your life as if this never happened. It was surprising how many people actually chose to stay and fight the fight. 

 

However, the rebuilding of the Council would take time and the cooperation of several different people. The former, rigid Council had made enemies of several different groups all over the world, including their Vampire counterpart. None of these groups were too keen on the idea of the Council being reborn. In fact, some of them were damn hostile to the whole idea. Steps needed to be taken in order to assure these people that the Council would not be the same body it was before. It would work for the better of Slayers all over the world, no longer interested in vying for power with these other strong groups. Even the makeup was going to be different. 

 

Hell, there were going to be Slayers on the Council. And that was just plain unheard of. Things were going to be different, and in order for the new Council to succeed, others had to be convinced of that. 

 

And that's where she came in. Little Willow Rosenburg, only she wasn't little anymore. She would never again be considered that little redhead who was nothing more than a mouse. Not since she had gone on her black magic trip and tried to end the world. And especially not since she was the one who triggered the release of Slayers all over the world. 

 

Though her and her friends tended to keep those kinds of things secret. 

 

But she was still Willow Rosenburg, thought to be the most reasonable and rational Scooby of the whole lot. She was the only one Giles would ever consider sending out to play this complicated game of diplomacy, the only one he thought that could pull it off. Buffy and Faith were no good, always quick to jump to the physical offensive when things got tense. Xander didn't have the common sense to be diplomatic, always very vocal about what he wanted to be done. Besides, his very real prejudice against all things dead made him a bad candidate for the job. And Giles himself couldn't go since he was busy in London, organizing the few that he could in an attempt to recover all those new Slayers from across the globe. 

 

That left her and Andrew. Giles very wisely chose her. Even though she had been volunteering Andrew to go in her stead. 

 

She honestly didn't know what Giles was thinking. Sure, she was the most level-headed of the group-which says a whole lot about the group-but that didn't mean she was right for the job. Sending someone like her into that kind of situation was just asking for trouble. And for one very good reason: 

 

She reeked over magic. 

 

Ever since she had done the spell, triggered all those Potentials in a last-ditch effort to stop the First, Willow hadn't been able to get the smell of magic off her person. It wasn't even a subtle scent, it was a big, honking obvious scent that drove the preternatural to her side in hordes. She went to LA to check up on Angel and nearly ended up with the vampire ravishing her. It took Fred, Gunn, Wesley, and Faith to pry Angel off of her, and he was still foaming at the teeth then. It took him awhile to calm down and explain what had happened, after which Giles promptly locked her up in his house in London. He didn't want to risk having anything else attempt what Angel had attempted upon seeing her. 

 

And though she had been assured that the scent had worn off quite a bit, it was still there. Angel could control himself around her, though sometimes he got this look in his eyes when he saw her. It made her blush and made Xander hit Angel a lot. And while she trusted Angel not to act on that feeling he got every now and then, she couldn't say the same for some random Master vampires she had never met. 

 

And she was pretty sure self-restraint wasn't a virtue that vampires necessarily prided themselves on. 

 

Sending her in was a gamble in itself. Though Giles was assured that she could handle herself should the vamps in question get too frisky, she had to try and avoid defending herself with magic. They needed these creatures to be their allies, and that meant turning them into rats wasn't an option. 

 

But she had to go. There was no way around it. They had to find all those Slayers, had to help them so that they knew how to control themselves. The Slayers needed the Watchers' Council, but before the Council could come back, it needed the seal of approval from the Vampire Council. 

 

Giles had chosen her as his dignitary, and the Council had chosen theirs to be the Master of St. Louis. Willow knew about this particular Master, knew that he was dating a Vampire Executioner that had quite the reputation among monsters. She also knew his relationship with his own Council was less than perfect. She knew something was up, it had to be for them to choose this vamp in particular, but she didn't know what that was. And to find out, she was going to have to go to St. Louis. 

 

Goddess protect her. She was going to need it.


	2. Part One - Frisky Shifters And Vampire Clowns

Giles was going to die. 

 

It was inevitable. There was no way he was going to last out the week. Willow was going to make sure of it. Giles was going to die at her hands for putting her in the middle of this gigantic mess with nothing more than an encouraging pat on the head. 

 

Couldn't he have at least given her an axe or something? Because as of right now, there wasn't much standing between Willow and any supernatural thingy that wanted to throw her down and have their way with her. Some of it had to do with the stench of magic covering every single last part of the redhead's body. But most of it had to do with the personalities of the people she was visiting. 

Was there something in the St. Louis water-supply that made all these shapeshifters extra horny? Now there was an interesting thought. She could conduct a whole science experiment on this phenomena. What about St. Louis makes shifters really frisky-climate, water, population-what? Maybe it wasn't anything in St. Louis making them that way. Maybe one really frisky shifter showed up here and then sent out an invitation to all the other really frisky shifters to come and put up shop in the city. Come one, come all, to the first 

frisky-shifter friendly city in the world! 

 

Oh great, now she was starting to sound a bit crazy. 

 

Willow shook her head, trying hard not to draw any more attention to herself and her companion from the other creatures in the limo. She sent a sideways glance over to Vi, her only line of defence against anyone that got out of line. The young Slayer offered her a weak smile back, one that faded from her features when another leer was tossed their way by their escort. 

 

Why on earth would the Master of the City send such a hormonally-driven individual to pick up dignitaries from the airport? Was this one of the things that this Jean-Claude vampire did that made the Vampire Council so angry? Did he allow such obvious lack of respect to be shown to all of his visitors, or was this something special just for Willow and Vi? Whatever the reason, Willow had already decided that this was one tick against Jean-Claude in her books. 

Too bad the whole reason behind this trip was to kiss enough vampire ass so that the reconstruction of the Watchers' Council could go unhindered. Really too bad, because otherwise Willow could have long ago turned this Jason fellow into a rat. 

 

But then again, she might just be getting ahead of herself. It wasn't like Jason had done anything offensive. It was just that he flirted so shamelessly and relentlessly that it kind of stunned Willow. She wasn't used to getting this much attention from any member of the male sex. And add onto that, his flirtation wasn't just limited to her. He was winking and sending double entendres Vi's way as well, and that was not right. Vi wasn't even seventeen years old yet! Willow wasn't even sure if it was legal to flirt with someone Vi's age the way Jason was. And if it was, it shouldn't be legal. Someone should think of the children. 

 

"So, what's the deal with the Watchers trying to come back?" Jason started off once more, flashing a mega-watt smile Willow's way. "We've all heard some crazy rumours, but no one knows the real reason why any of this is going down." 

 

"Well, what have you heard?" Willow asked him, her voice tight with tension. Damn this werewolf! He made her so goddamn nervous! She gave herself another mental shake and steeled her features accordingly. Jason just smiled at her attempt, leaning back in such a way as to show off his rather nice upper body which was clad in a sinfully tight white shirt. But then again, everything Jason was wearing seemed to be sinfully tight. How on earth could he breathe in those pants? 

 

"Well, there's this rumour flying about, that the line of the Slayer got really messed up," he finally revealed, brushing blonde hair out of twinkling blue eyes as he measured Willow up. "They say that there was this witch, this incredibly sexy redheaded witch, who changed everything everyone has ever known about the Slayer. They say that she did away with the Chosen One rule and decided to call each and every last potential Slayer in the world." 

 

"Who's 'they'?" Vi interrupted, her voice shaking just a bit but her eyes glowing with strength. Man, ever since Vi had been called, the girl had done an almost complete 180. She was strong, vocal, and a lot calmer than she used to be. Her voice still shook when she spoke to this rather shameless flirter, but only a bit. And it was gone as soon as she noticed it. 

 

But again Jason just dismissed this with a grin. He winked at the young Slayer, leaning forward and resting his elbows on his knees until his face was only a foot away from Vi's. 

 

"'They' are everybody," he replied, dropping his voice to a sensual purr. 

"Werewolves, leopards, rats, vampires-you name it, everyone's heard about it. Kind of makes everyone wonder if it is true." 

 

"Everyone like the Vampire Council?" Willow interrupted, drawing the wolf's attention away from Vi and back to her in an instant. Jason shrugged, his grin never dropping or fading a bit. 

 

"Yeah, Jean-Claude would also like to know," the blonde werewolf replied easily. "After all, when there ended up being two Slayers at a time, none of the undead were all that pleased. But now that there's a possibility that an army of Slayers is just milling around, waiting to be unleashed on the night, well, they've all become a bit ansty." 

 

"Better to be ansty now rather dead for real," Vi retorted sharply. "Whatever happened on the Hellmouth happened because we were trying to save the skin of everyone on this planet. And we did it with the only plan available to us. Now if these vampires would like to complain about it, well they can just shove it. Because when the First was rearing its head I didn't see any of these high and mighty chumps anywhere around." 

 

"You're fiesty!" Jason chuckled. "Anita's going to like that. Jean-Claude might not, but then again he might like it anyway. He certainly enjoys it when Anita talks back to him." 

 

"Anita being his human servant, correct?" Willow asked, her mind racing as she tried to pull on all the information Giles had given her before sending her on this trip. Anita Blake, renowned necromancer, vampire executioner, and rumoured human servant to the Master of St. Louis. 

 

"That's Anita all right," Jason confirmed. "But word of advice: don't call her a human servant to her face. She has real issues with that word 'servant'." 

 

"We'll keep it in mind," Willow assured him, falling back into silence. Jason just continued to grin, sending a curious look Vi's way. No doubt he was trying to find out what she was. He had known Willow was a witch the instant that he had laid eyes on her, but Vi had stumped him from the get-go. And Willow wasn't about to clue him in on what Vi was just yet. Better to keep her companion's Slayer status a secret for as long as they could. Willow had a feeling that these people might not give a Slayer the best reception. 

 

The redhead came out of her thoughts as the limo that had they had been ushered into from the airport began to slow down. Jason turned his head to look out the window, both Willow and Vi following suit. The driver carefully pulled the long car into a parking lot, driving slowly past a large structure that had a circus feel to it. Willow narrowed her eyes, reading the large sign hanging next to the building. 

 

WELCOME TO THE CIRCUS OF THE DAMNED. 

 

"Why does the clown have fangs?" Vi whispered to Willow. The redhead shrugged, her eyes also set on the image on the sign as well. It looked just like your average clown, grotesquely painted face, large wide grin. The only problem was the fangs. Why did it have fangs? 

 

"Didn't you know about this?" Jason asked them suddenly. "I thought someone would have told you before you came." 

 

"Told us what?" Vi demanded. Jason shrugged, nodding up towards the sign the two girls had been puzzling over seconds before. 

 

"About the circus." 

 

"The Master of the City lives in a circus?" Willow asked, her disbelief evident. 

"Yeah," Jason affirmed. "He owns it. The only supernatural circus in town. Regular shows and everything." 

 

"You mean it's a circus with vampires and werewolves and stuff?" Vi wondered. Jason nodded and then flashed them another bright grin as the limo came to a complete stop. The blonde werewolf jumped out of the vehicle quickly, stopping by the open door and offering Vi a helping hand out. The Slayer looked at the proffered hand uncertainly before accepting it and allowing Jason to pull her out of the car. Willow followed suit, ignoring the lustful look in Jason's eyes as she remained focus on the building before her. 

 

Circus of the Damned. Giles didn't say anything about this.


End file.
